In the more than two years since the first case emerged in Chicago, COVID-19 has shut down the state, causing Gov. J.B. Pritzker to institute a reopening plan before shutting some things down again then gradually reopening once more. Just when things appeared to get better, new variants — delta and omicron — caused cases to surge again. Meanwhile, N-95s, positivity and vaccination rates, nasal swabs, boosters and other new words relating to the pandemic have entered the public vocabulary.
Here’s a look back at key points in the coronavirus pandemic in Illinois.
Jan. 24, 2020: Chicago woman who traveled to China becomes first confirmed case in Illinois
A Chicago woman in her 60s, who in late December had traveled to Wuhan, China, to care for her elderly father, is the second confirmed case of coronavirus in the United States, and the first in Illinois. She returned to Chicago on Jan. 13 and, nationally, her diagnosis was second only to the Washington state man in his 30s who had traveled to the same region of China. Her husband became the second case confirmed in the state. They both receive treatment at Amita Health St. Alexius Medical Center Hoffman Estates before being discharged.
Feb. 2, 2020: ‘Chinatown, as you can see, remains open for business,’ Lightfoot says
Before kicking off the Chinatown Lunar New Year parade, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the federal government needs to provide U.S. cities with clear guidance for dealing with the coronavirus and asked for assurances it will pay for costs related to dealing with what has been declared a public health emergency.
Feb. 11, 2020: Illinois becomes first state to test for new coronavirus
Instead of sending specimens to the federal government for testing, an Illinois Department of Public Health laboratory in Chicago can deliver results typically within 24 hours.
March 7, 2020: Vaughn Occupational High School students and staff asked to stay home
A special education teacher at the school tested positive with coronavirus, Chicago Public Schools officials announced. She had been on the Grand Princess cruise ship, which was associated with 20 cases.
March 9, 2020: Gov. Pritzker issues a disaster proclamation due to the coronavirus outbreak
The proclamation makes Illinois the 14th state to declare an emergency in response to the outbreak of the respiratory virus, according to the governor’s office and will allow Illinois to tap additional state and federal resources to combat the spread of the new virus and better coordinate its response.
March 11: In-person classes and popular events shut down as World Health Organization declares COVID-19 pandemic
With 25 coronavirus cases in Illinois, St. Patrick’s Day events and classes at the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and Illinois State University are cancelled. The NBA becomes the first major sports league to suspend its season.
March 12, 2020: Pritzker orders the shutdown of public events with more than 1,000 people
Most major sporting events, concerts and rallies shut down just as spring arrives. Pritzker said he has asked professional sports teams “to cancel all of their games or play without spectators until May 1,” and they’ve agreed. The MLB and NHL seasons are suspended, and the NCAA and Big Ten tournaments are canceled.
March 13, 2020: Governor cancels Illinois schools statewide until March 30
One the same day President Donald Trump declares a national emergency, parents and caregivers in Illinois scramble to make alternative arrangements for the roughly 2 million children affected by the state’s latest attempt to slow the coronavirus. Chicago’s museums announce they, too, will shut down temporarily.
March 15, 2020: Pritzker orders all Illinois bars and restaurants to close to dine-in customers through at least March 30
The announcement comes hours after Pritzker said on a Sunday morning television program that he was considering closing bars and restaurants, following crowds of St. Patrick’s Day revelers being out at bars.
March 16, 2020: Retired nurse becomes Illinois’ first coronavirus fatality
Patricia Frieson, 61, is diagnosed with COVID-19 and dies at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
March 20, 2020: Stay-at-home order issued for entire state
The order — starting at 5 p.m. March 21 — marks Illinois’ most aggressive step yet to try to slow the coronavirus’s spread. Pritzker said his latest decision was based on conversations with “some of the best medical experts, epidemiologists, mathematicians and modelers.”
March 26, 2020: Lightfoot closes city beaches, parks and trails
The mayor orders Chicago’s iconic lakefront and other high-profile public areas closed off, a day after crowds flouted social distancing rules to pack beaches and parks on a warm afternoon.
March 28, 2020: McCormick Place converted into a field hospital
As the state braces for a possible surge in cases, McCormick Place is transformed into a facility capable of handling up to 3,000 coronavirus patients. Use of the facility for medical care winds down in May 2020.
April 3, 2020: Pritzker calls wearing a mask ‘a good idea’
After discouraging people early in the pandemic from hoarding masks that are in short supply and badly needed by medical personnel, Pritzker says “we’re thinking about” advising people to wear masks.
May 5, 2020: Governor lays out a regional, five-phase plan to reopen the state
The final phase of Pritzker’s plan, when conventions, festivals and sporting events resume, won’t kick in until there’s a vaccine, treatment or widespread immunity to COVID-19.
Until then, “the option of returning to normalcy doesn’t exist,” Pritzker said at his daily briefing.
May 8: Chicago mayor outlines her five-phase reopening plan
Lightfoot’s plan layers additional standards for rates of infection and testing capacity on top of the state rules the governor unveiled earlier this week. As with Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan, Lightfoot’s framework sets a high bar for returning to normalcy.
May 29, 2020: Illinois — but not Chicago — enters Phase 3 of reopening plan
Outdoor dining at restaurants and bars is back on the menu. Hair salons and barbershops will be back styling and snipping. And shops previously deemed non-essential retail get to open their doors.
June 3, 2020: Chicago begins gradual reopening of businesses
Lightfoot’s announcement catches some by surprise, since over the weekend she had suggested civic unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police could delay the reopening.
June 26, 2020: Chicago joins the rest of the state in Phase 4 of reopening
All four regions of the state as designated in Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” reopening plan move into the fourth of five phases, with gatherings of up to 50 people allowed and some recreational opportunities restored. Jazz clubs are among some of Chicago’s first live music venues to reopen on July 1.
July 3, 2020: The Shedd Aquarium becomes the first big Chicago museum to reopen
The popular attraction admits paying visitors for the first time since March with timed admissions. Most other major Chicago museums follow suit over the next few weeks.
July 24, 2020: Chicago MLB teams resume games
On opening night, Kyle Hendricks pitches a three-hit shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, giving David Ross a win in his managerial debut.
The Twins defeat the White Sox 10-5 at Guaranteed Rate Field, which features photo cutouts of fans.
Sept. 7, 2020: Navy Pier welcomes visitors for Labor Day before shutting down until spring
One of Illinois’ most popular tourist attractions, the pier closed from mid-March to June, but even after its reopening, attendance has been only 15% of its normal level, spokeswoman Payal Patel said.
That prompted Navy Pier officials to suspend operations once more until spring.
Sept. 8, 2020: CPS begins new school year with remote learning
Most educators were teaching from their homes, though some streamed lessons from their school classrooms. Families around the city report a range of successes and frustrations as the watershed day came to a close.
Oct. 16, 2020: ‘We are in a new wave,’ Pritzker says
The daily count of COVID-19 cases reported in Illinois Friday was 4,544, well above the previous record high of 4,015 set just a day earlier.
Oct. 23, 2020: Lightfoot imposes curfew on Chicago bars, restaurants and nonessential businesses
In addition to the 10 p.m. curfew, the city again prohibits indoor service at traditional taverns and brewery taprooms without food licenses, and asks residents to cap any social gatherings at six people.
Deaths in Illinois long-term facilities hit 5,000.
Nov. 4, 2020: More than 1 million Chicago-area voters shatter records as they cast ballots with ‘a sense of hope and purpose’
In the face of a crippling pandemic and months of social unrest, Chicago-area voters came out in large numbers to cast their ballots in one of the most divisive presidential campaigns in modern history.
Nov. 20, 2020: Pritzker enacts new, targeted restrictions to slow COVID-19 surge
Stopping short of another statewide stay-at-home order, Pritzker slashes capacity limits for retail shops and orders casinos, museums and other indoor entertainment venues to shut down — just days after he ordered all indoor museums to close again. Some restaurants decide to close for the season.
Dec. 15, 2020: Illinois begins administering COVID-19 vaccine
Dr. Marina Del Rios and four other health care workers receives Chicago’s first COVID vaccinations at Loretto Hospital, the first step in a national effort to blunt a pandemic that has killed 1.6 million people and sickened nearly 73 million worldwide. Five health care workers in Peoria are also given shots at an event attended by the governor.
Jan. 7, 2021: Illinois coronavirus case count surges past 1 million
Pritzker calls it a “tragic milestone,” and encourages Illinois residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available to them.
Jan. 15, 2021: Illinois confirms first case of more contagious COVID-19 variant
The SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7, which first cropped up in the United Kingdom, is identified by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine during an analysis of samples from positive COVID-19 tests, officials said.
Jan. 23, 2021: Indoor dining is allowed again in Chicago and Cook County
For the first time since late October 2020, up to four people can eat together indoors or six people outdoors at bars and restaurants.
Jan. 26, 2021: Vaccine appointment available at pharmacies for eligible Chicago-area residents
The online sign-ups, however, come amid extremely limited doses of the vaccines, meaning appointments can be tough to come by.
Feb. 11, 2021: CPS schools reopen — again
In its push for additional school safety measures, vaccines and remote-work accommodations for Chicago Public Schools staff — a bitter fight that took to the district to the brink of its second strike in 16 months — the Chicago Teachers Union argued that educators should get the same right as parents to choose whether to return to school during the coronavirus pandemic. Tens of thousands of kindergarten through fifth-grade CPS students return to classrooms March 1.
March 5, 2021: One million Illinois residents vaccinated
March 9, 2021: United Center opens as COVID-19 mass vaccination site
The federally run mass vaccination site opens — an hour behind schedule — amid widespread confusion over ever-shifting guidelines for who is eligible to receive coronavirus inoculations at the facility. Other mass vaccination sites follow including ones at Wrigley Field and Chicago State University. Walk-ins are welcomed by late April.
April 19, 2021: CPS high schools reopen 13 months after COVID-19 shutdowns
CPS high schools — which have more complex schedules and where students are in an age range that has seen a recent rise in positivity rates — are the last in CPS to reopen, with most students having last had in-person classes in March 2020.
May 10, 2021: Kids as young as 12 are cleared to get the COVID-19 vaccine
Kids now get a turn at protecting themselves and their communities from a potentially deadly virus, Tribune columnist Heidi Stevens said.
May 28, 2021: Chicago beaches reopen
It’s the first time since September 2019 that people can return to the city’s 22 lakefront beaches. Hazardous weather, though, restricts access that day.
June 11, 2021: At the brewery, the ballpark and elsewhere, it’s a mostly cautious move back to normal as Illinois reopens
After a year of ever-readjusting rules and restrictions mandated by the coronavirus’s course through the population, a year marked by the terrible toll the disease took on families, on businesses and on our collective sense of ease in the world, reopening day is the first time authorities removed attendance restrictions and social distancing requirements from businesses and personal gatherings. At Wrigley Field, the Cubs are allowed to sell all the seats in the ballpark for the first time since the 2019 season.
June 17, 2021: 64 cases of COVID-19 Delta variant identified in Illinois so far
The COVID-19 strain first found in India has been labeled by federal health officials as a “variant of concern.”
July 30, 2021: Chicago issues indoor mask advisory for everyone over 2
The move comes after the CDC recommended that people wear masks indoors in areas with “substantial and high transmission” of the virus. Chicago has surpassed 200 new COVID cases per day, the public health department said.
Aug. 4, 2021: Pritzker issues mask mandate for schools as Illinois loses ground to COVID-19’s highly contagious delta variant
Masks are now required for students, staff and visitors in all buildings from preschool through high school, both public and private, and in all day care centers for anyone older than 2. Masks are now also mandatory in long-term care facilities statewide.
Aug. 13, 2021: CPS will require COVID-19 vaccination for teachers, other employees
Employees without an approved medical or religious exemption who are not fully vaccinated by Oct. 15 will be ineligible to work until they are fully vaccinated and provide vaccination confirmation to CPS.
Aug. 20, 2021: Indoor mask mandate returns for Chicago and Cook County
Anyone age 2 and older must wear a face mask in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccine status, Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a news conference. She cited the far more transmissible delta variant and its role in pushing the city into the higher risk category of more than 400 new daily COVID-19 cases — but she added that residents need not panic. The Cook County Department of Public Health follows suit.
Aug. 25, 2021: Mayor announces city employees must get both vaccine doses by Oct. 15
“As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, we must take every step necessary and at our disposal to keep everyone in our city safe and healthy,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “Getting vaccinated has been proven to be the best way to achieve that and make it possible to recover from this devastating pandemic. And so, we have decided to join other municipalities and government agencies across the nation, including the U.S. military, who are making this decision to protect the people who are keeping our cities and country moving.”
Aug. 26, 2021: Governor mandates COVID vaccines for teachers, college students and health care workers, and imposes indoor mask mandate for all
“Unfortunately, we are running out of time as our hospitals run out of beds,” Pritzker said. Health experts, he said, “fear the worst is yet to come for us, to put it bluntly. Because of the delta variant, hospitals are again fighting the battle that we had hoped would be behind us by now.”
He adds a vaccination requirement for day care workers in October.
Aug. 30, 2021: Worries, excitement, busing woes mark first day as CPS schools reopen fully
Parents express excitement and fear on the first day of school, which comes amid a rise in coronavirus cases in Chicago and around the country thanks to the more contagious delta variant. There’s also a lot of uncertainty as CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union continue to negotiate a fall agreement, with rhetoric heating up in recent days.
Sept. 3, 2021: Federal pandemic unemployment benefits end, cutting off weekly payments to 452,000 people in Illinois
The sudden expiration of emergency federal assistance, which some economists have likened to a fiscal cliff, could precipitate everything from a flood of job seekers to a plunge in consumer spending in Illinois, which is expected to be among the hardest-hit states.
Oct. 7, 2021: President Biden plugs vaccine mandates on Chicago trip, says more shots key to ending pandemic
During his visit to a manufacturing site in Elk Grove Village, Biden restates his belief that “this has been a pandemic of the unvaccinated” that has overtaxed the country’s health care system and its personnel who are “getting the living hell kicked out of them.”
Oct. 1, 2021: With 25,000 dead in Illinois from COVID-19, here’s how the pandemic evolved from killing Chicagoans to southern Illinoisans
After closing out its deadliest month since last winter, Illinois tallied more than 1,000 deaths in September alone. And the 25,000 doesn’t count about 2,700 additional deaths deemed as probable COVID-19 cases.
Oct. 18, 2021: Chicago puts officers on no-pay leave if they haven’t reported COVID-19 vaccine status
But the president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, who publicly encouraged his members not to comply with the mandate before a judge ordered him to stop, reiterates his belief that the number could eventually reach about 3,000.
Nov. 3, 2021: Chicago children begin receiving pediatric COVID-19 vaccines
Less than a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, children receive shots at pediatrician offices and clinics in the city.
Nov. 19, 2021: Illinois health department urges everyone 18 and older to get a COVID-19 booster
State officials said early data indicates vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infections wanes over time, in part due to the greater infectiousness of the delta variant of the virus.
Dec. 7, 2021: Omicron variant detected for the first time in Illinois
The case is identified in a Chicagoan who made contact with someone who had traveled to the city and tested positive for omicron in another state, according to a joint statement from the Illinois and Chicago departments of public health. The person was fully vaccinated with a booster dose, the statement said, and is not hospitalized.
Dec. 27, 2021: ‘Omicron and delta are coming to your party,’ Pritzker says
With another surge in COVID-19 cases making more Illinoisans sick and once again crowding hospitals, Pritzker announces the state will more than double its staffing at vaccination sites to ensure that more people get inoculated and to meet the demand for booster shots.
As for the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebrations, Pritzker has not imposed any new statewide restrictions — aside from the mask mandates in public spaces that were imposed in this past summer. But he implored the public to “take extra care” of themselves if they plan to be part of any mass gatherings on New Year’s Eve.
Dec. 29, 2021: CPS extends deadline for at-home COVID-19 tests after drop boxes overflow with kits
The district said it distributed test kits to 150,000 students at more than 300 schools in areas hit hard by coronavirus that also have low vaccination rates. Families were “strongly encouraged” to test students on Tuesday and drop the sample at their nearest FedEx drop box or library that day so results could be processed before students return from winter break next week.
But some parents encountered shipping boxes filled to the brim with packages on Tuesday.
Jan. 6, 2022: CPS cancels classes again
District officials and the teachers union again fail to come to terms on COVID-19 safety measures.
In-person classes do not resume until Jan. 12.
January 2022: Customers report long waits, improper masking, no distancing at pop-up test sites
At a time when pop-up COVID-19 testing sites are under increasing scrutiny, customers interviewed by the Tribune expressed an array of concerns, ranging from improper masking and social distancing to a misdated test result, delays in receiving test results of a week or more, and phone calls that go unanswered.
Feb. 4, 2022: Pritzker mandates COVID-19 vaccine boosters for nursing home and other long-term care workers
The new requirement comes as the governor extended his pandemic-era executive orders through March 5, just four days shy of the second anniversary of his initial COVID-19 disaster proclamation.
Feb. 28, 2022: Mask mandates end in most of Chicago and Illinois
Scores of Illinois schools had already moved to mask-optional policies after a lawsuit against dozens of districts, including CPS, resulted in a temporary halt to the mandate for children of those who sued.
But in CPS, universal masking is stipulated in a hard-fought COVID-19 safety agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union, which came about after union members refused to teach in person during the omicron surge in January, resulting in five days of canceled classes.
March 1, 2022: Illinois’ top public health official to depart, effective March 14
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who helped guide the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, will leave her post as Illinois’ top public health official days after the second anniversary of a pandemic being declared, a significant departure as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration attempts to move on from coronavirus restrictions.
Ezike joined the administration in early 2019 as director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, typically a low-profile, bureaucratic role. But she became a familiar — and, for many, calming — presence on TV and computer screens in homes across Illinois in spring 2020 as she appeared with Pritzker at his daily briefings during the early days of the pandemic.
March 14, 2022: Masks become optional in CPS schools
CPS cited a decline in cases and test positivity as reasons why it made masks optional for students and staff members this week even as it faces opposition from the Chicago Teachers Union. The district and the union reached a COVID-19 safety agreement, which includes a masking provision, in January after days of canceled classes amid the omicron surge. The district is still recommending masks.
The mask-optional rule survived an initial challenge by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Also on March 14, 2022: ‘We’re not doing mass firings today,’ Lightfoot says
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot gives city workers who didn’t get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Sunday a chance to get the shot before placing them on no-pay status.
Lightfoot implemented a rule requiring city workers get vaccinated by March 13 or lose pay. Asked how the city would enforce its policies, Lightfoot said supervisors would call workers in to verify that they aren’t vaccinated and give them an opportunity to comply. They will then be given an order to get vaccinated and if they don’t, she said, then they’ll be placed on no-pay status, which is considered nondisciplinary.
April 18, 2022: After federal judge voids mask mandate, United drops requirement but CTA, Metra still require face coverings
A judge in Florida has voided the federal mask mandate for those aboard planes and public transit, prompting major airlines to halt the requirement on domestic flights while most riders on trains and buses across the Chicago region will still need to don them — for now.
April 19, 2022: Gov. Pritzker lifts state transportation mask requirement
The state requirements had been cited by CTA, Metra and the Chicago Department of Aviation in keeping mask requirements despite the federal ruling. CTA and the aviation department did not immediately say Tuesday afternoon whether they would keep their mask requirements once the state rules were lifted, but Metra said masks would be “welcome but not required while traveling on Metra trains.”